/*
 * Copyright (c) 2008, Heng Yuan
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
 *     * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
 *       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 *     * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
 *       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
 *       documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 *     * Neither the name of the Heng Yuan nor the
 *       names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
 *       derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY Heng Yuan ''AS IS'' AND ANY
 * EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
 * WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
 * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL Heng Yuan BE LIABLE FOR ANY
 * DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
 * (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
 * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
 * ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
 * (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
 * SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 */
package org.yuanheng.cookcc;

import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;

/**
 * Use this annotation to create a lexical shortcut.  When a particular
 * <tt>{name}</tt> in any lexical patterns, CookCC would try to find the
 * shortcut with the given name and substitute it with its shortcut
 * pattern.
 * <p>
 * This annotation can be specified anywhere on any functions.  The
 * ordering of the shortcut does not matter, but care must be taken
 * not to create reference loops.
 *
 * @author Heng Yuan
 * @version $Id: Shortcut.java 764 2015-05-08 05:07:25Z superduperhengyuan@gmail.com $
 * @since 0.3
 */
@Retention (value = RetentionPolicy.SOURCE)
public @interface Shortcut
{
	/**
	 * The name of the shortcut.
	 *
	 * @return	the name of the shortcut.
	 */
	public abstract String name ();
	/**
	 * The regular expression pattern.
	 *
	 * @return the regular expression pattern this shortcut represents.
	 */
	public abstract String pattern ();
}
